Earthquake recurrence and magnitude and seismic deformation of the northwestern Okhotsk plate, northeast Russia

摘要

Recorded seismicity from the northwestern Okhotsk plate, northeast Asia, is currently insufficient to account for the predicted slip rates along its boundaries due to plate tectonics. However, the magnitude-frequency relationship for earthquakes from the region suggests that larger earthquakes are possible in the future and that events of M_w 7.5 which should occur every –100-350 years would account for almost all the slip of the plate along its boundaries due to Eurasia–North America convergence. We use models for seismic slip distribution along the bounding faults of Okhotsk to conclude that relatively little aseismic strain release is occurring and that larger future earthquakes are likely in the region. Our models broadly support the idea of a single Okhotsk plate, with the large majority of tectonic strain released along its boundaries.